Say Good Bye to High Blood Cholesterol with Banana

By Kyle J. Norton

Banana may be considered a functional food for the prevention and treatment of hyperlipidemia, some studies suggested.

Hyperlipidemia is a condition of abnormally elevated blood cholesterol.

Hyperlipidemia is not caused by an a single factor. However, the hereditary factors are the most common cause. 

Other prevalent risk factors associated with the early onset of high blood cholesterol are a diet high in saturated fat and triglyceride levels. 

Certain medical conditions such as diabetes mellitus, kidney disease, and hypothyroidism, may also promote hypertriglyceridemia.

Cholesterol produced by the liver or directly from dietary sources are necessary for the cell membrane and the production of the steroid hormone. 

However, if cholesterol levels are elevated, large amounts of LDL or bad cholesterol can deposit in the arterial walls, leading to atherosclerosis.

The normal ratio of blood cholesterol is 4 (low-density lipoprotein, LDL) to 1 (high-density lipoprotein, HDL). Any levels that are lower than 4 are considered a healthy blood cholesterol.

Long-term and untreated high blood cholesterol can cause numbers of cardiovascular disease, including stroke, coronary heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, and diabetes.

If you are experiencing symptoms of chest pain or angina, pain while walking caused by the blocked arteries that are unable to send blood to the legs, please check with your doctor to rule out the possibility of high blood cholesterol.

High blood cholesterol is easy to treat by changing diet pattern, lifestyle and involving moderate physical activity.

Dr. Robert L. Rosenthal, at the Baylor University Medical Center, in the study "Effectiveness of altering serum cholesterol levels without drugs" said, " except for patients with extreme cholesterol elevations, consensus panels all promote dietary therapy as an initial step in the treatment of hyperlipidemia' and " a variety of dietary strategies designed to lower lipid levels, including the American Heart Association diet, the Ornish diet, the Mediterranean diet, exercise, phytosterols, fiber, soy products, and fish oil.

Therefore, the risk high blood cholesterol of people with a healthy diet high in fruits and vegetable, whole grain and less in saturated and trans fat, red meats and processed foods and lifestyle and involving moderate physical exercise are closed to zero.

 Banana is the common name of a genus of tropical herbaceous plants. It can grow from 3 to 9 m and belongs to the family of the lily and the orchid.

The research team at Okayama University in the finding the natural ingredient for lowering the cholesterol launched an investigation to examine the effect pulp of banana fruit (Musa sapientum L. var. Cavendishii) for its cholesterol-lowering effect in mice model.

Selected male rats were fed on a diet containing lard (50 g/kg) and cholesterol (5 g/kg).

Application of freeze-dried banana pulp showed a marked cholesterol-lowering effect when incorporated into a diet at the level of 300 or 500 g/kg,

Starch and tannin prepared from banana pulp were not responsible for the cholesterol-lowering effect. and banana lipids did not affect the concentration of serum cholesterol.

A rise of the concentration of serum cholesterol in mice group fed with dopamine, n-epinephrine, and serotonin was also reduced by the injection of the freeze-dried banana pulp.

Further examination also found that both soluble and insoluble fibers fractionated from banana pulp had a cholesterol-lowering effect, with the exception of cellulose.

Moreover, in the additional investigation of the hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects of ethanol extract of mature green fruits of Musa (green banana) in alloxan-induced diabetic rats, researchers launched a testing of the extract at two doses, 500 mg/kg body weight and 1000 mg/kg body weight in comparison to the standard drug, glibenclamide.

Rats administered with alloxan showed significantly increased levels of serum triacylglycerol, total cholesterol, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity. 

Futhermore, lipid peroxides od rats administered with alloxan increased significantly while reduced glutathione (GSH) decreased considerably in liver and pancreas.

Oral administration of the ethanol extract of green fruits of Musa significantly decreased the levels of serum triacylglycerol, cholesterol and ALT activity. 

More importantly, the green banana application significantly decreased the level of lipid peroxides while GSH content increased substantially in liver and pancreas.

The lowering cholesterol effect was found to dose independent. However, treatment with 500 mg/kg body weight of the extract showed a higher content of GSH and lower level of lipid peroxides in pancreas compared with glibenclamide.

Dr. Kaimal S, at the final report, wrote, "ethanol extract of mature green fruits of Musa AAA (Chenkadali) has antioxidant and hypolipidaemic properties and may be used for treating diabetes mellitus".

Taken altogether, banana and its extract may be considered s functional food for the prevention and treatment of high blood cholesterol with no side effects.

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

References
(1) Hypocholesterolaemic effect of banana (Musa sapientum L. var. Cavendishii) pulp in the rat fed on a cholesterol-containing diet by Horigome T1, Sakaguchi E, Kishimoto C.(PubMed)
(2) Hypolipidaemic and antioxidant effects of fruits of Musa AAA (Chenkadali) in alloxan induced diabetic rats by Kaimal S1, Sujatha KS, George S.(PubMed)
(3)  Effectiveness of altering serum cholesterol levels without drugs by Robert L. Rosenthal, MD. (PMC)